Apparatus for cutting and stacking sheets of paper or the like.



A. ROMMENEY & G. KATHE. APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND STACKING SHEETS OFPAPER OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-29, 19H.

A. ROMMENEY & G. KATHE. APPARATUS FO-R CUTTING AND STACKING SHEETS OFPAPER OR THE LIKE- APPLICATION FILED 050.29. 1911.

1,152,551. Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. ROMMENEY & G. KATHE. APPARATUS FOR cumwa AND STACKING SHEETS OF PAPEROR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29, 191!- Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

III/ l/lIl/l/l/l/l/l lllllllllllljllll/llllr T llll lllll ILLPIIIIIIIIIIII'? 'COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH c0., WASHINGTON. D4 6.

ALBERT ROMMENEY AND GEQRG KATHE, or PininnivAu, DREsnEN, GERMANY.

APPARATUS roe CUTTING AND srAcKINe streams or PAPER on THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 29, 1911. Serial No. 668,518.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT RO MENEY and Gnome KATHE, subjects of theEmperor of Germany, residents of. Heidenau, Bez. Dresden, in the Kingdomof Saxony, Ger many, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Apparatus for Cutting and Stacking Sheets of Paper or the like, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in apparatus for stacking sheetsof paper or the like and more particularly relates to improvements inapparatus by means of which a sheet of paper or the like or the end of acontinuous web is held in stretched position, while being fed betweenthe cutter blades of a paper cutting machine, so that the cut sheet ofpaper is adapted to properly fall on a table on which the sheets are tobe stacked, or on the pile of sheets which have before been stacked onthe said table.

One of the objects of the improvements is to provide an apparatus ofthisclass which is adapted to hold the sheet or web of paper or the likein a stretched position without being in bodily contact therewith. Andwith this object in view our invention consists in providing means inour improved apparatus-whereby a difference of the pressure of the airabove and below the sheet or web of paper is produced'which is adaptedto hold the said web or sheet a-float. This difference of the pressuremay be produced by increasing the pressure below the sheet or web, or byreducing the same above the same. In the practical construction of ourapparatus the said increase or reduction of the pressure of the air isobtained by producing a current of air below the sheet of paper, whichcurrent is so directed as to support the sheet or web of paper, or byproducing a current of air above the web or sheet of paper or the like,in which case the said current must be so directed as to produce suctionon the upper surface of the sheet. As will readily be understood, themeans for producing a current of air below the web of paper are suitablefor any strength of the web, becausea sufiicient pressure can easily beobtained, while the apparatus for producing a current above the web issuitable only in case of webs or sheets of paper of the finer grades.

Inorder that the invention may clearly be understood we shall describethe same with reference to a machine for cutting. sheets of Patented Set; 7, 1915.

paper from a continuous web and stacking .paratus will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art, and we shall not specificallyrefer thereto. But we wishit to be understood, that our invention is notlimited to the type of machine shown in the drawings. When applied to amachine for cutting sheets of paper .or the like from a continuous web,or to machines of a different character various important advantages areobtained as compared to apparatus of this class such as are now in use.

The apparatus required for producing the current or currents of air arevery simple in construction, so that mechanical devices canbe dispensedwith which make the machine cumbersome and are subject to wear. Further,mechanism for stacking the cut sheets is not necessary, so that thespace which in other machines is required for this mechanism is spared,and the space required at the rear of the cutting apparatus correspondsto the size of the table or to the length of the sheets to be out... Inknown apparatus the stacking mechanism must correspond to the largestsize of the sheets which are ever cut on the machine whereby the tableis made inaccessible When small sheets are cut,as is ordinarily thecase. The

operation of the new apparatus is by far more simple and reliable thanthe operation of known apparatus, and it requires less power.

If the paper handled by'the apparatus is very heavy itmay sometimeshappen, that a very strong current is necessary to support the sheet,because the sheet is bulged and can not smoothly be stacked, if its rearend contacts with the stacked sheets at an obtuse or right angle. Inorder to reduce the strength of the current required in such cases weprefer to providemechanical means which assist the current of air insupporting the rear end of the sheet and prevent the same fromcontacting with the pile of paper. It should be understood, that suchsupport ing means are not similar in operation to mechanical stackingmeans such as are now in use, because they do not require the sizecorresponding to the largest sizes of the sheets cut on the machine, butare comparatively short and independent as to their di-" mensionof thesize ofthe sheet to be cut.

In order that our invention may more clearly be understood severalexamples embo'dying the same have been shown in the accompanyingdrawings, and in addition a machine "for cutting's'he'etsof paper from acontinuous web in which the said examples may be embodied. In saiddrawings the same letters of reference have been used in all j the viewsto indicate corresponding @p'arts. a 1 Figure 1,1s a side view of apaper cutting machine with our improved apparatus for stacking thesheetsof paper mounted there'- on, Fig. 2, is a plan of Fig. 1, Fig.3,is a idiagrammatical side view partly in section of thestacking-apparatus shownin Figs. 1 "and 2, Fig.4, is a plan of Fig. 3,Fig.5. 1s a vertical cross-section of'a modified form of the blowingdevice, Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive,

are detail side views illustrating modified forms of the stackingapparatus.

Before describingv our invention we shall i 1 at first describe amachine for cutting sheets of paper from a continuous web in which thestacking apparatus may be embodied. But :we' wish it to beunderstood,that ourinvention is not limited to the combination of the 1 stackingapparatus with the cutting machine shown in the drawings, or with anytype of a cutting machine, though the said comblnation is an importantfield of the use of our improved apparatus.

which at one of its 'endshas belt'pulleys 3 secured thereto by meansofwhich power is applied'to the machine. To the shaft 2 a pinion-4 iskeyed which is in mesh with a V spur" gear 5 .mounted on a'main shaft 6.

From the shafts 2.and 6 motion is imparted to --the various .mechanismsof the cutting machine and of the stacking apparatus. At the left vhandend of the machine frame'two w rolled webs 7 of paper are mounted onsuitable brackets, (not shown), and from the said'webs the'paper P isfed over a guide roll 10 and to a feeding apparatus mounted forreciprocation on guide ways 11 formed ontheupper side of thestandards 1. As

' i shown the said feeding apparatus consists ofalower bar 12 which isrigidly secured to a pair of slides 13 and a vertically movable;upperbar 14 which is guided in vertical slots'15.of'the slides 13. Atboth ends studs 16 project from the bar 14 which are adapted to beengaged'by rockers 17 secured to a rock shaft 18 mounted on the slide13'. To the rock shaft arms 19 are secured which at their ends arejointed to arms 20 of the spur gears 5. Upon rotation of the said spurgears in the direction of the arrow 21 the rockers 17 are -rockedIdownward, so that the upper When the arm 20 arrives in its right handdead point, the rockers engage the studs 16 and raise the upper clampingbar from the webs, so that the latter are at rest, while the clampingmechanism is being returned. The

webs of paper are fed through a cutting device which consists of astationary cutter blade 25 and a movable blade 26. As shown the movableblade is mounted on arms 27 secured to a common rock shaft 28 which atone end is provided with a crank arm 29. To the latter a lever 30 isjointed which is adapted to be reciprocated by an eccentric 31 securedto the main shaft 6. At the right of the cutting apparatus a table 35 isprovided which is suspended by means of chains 36 trained on sprocketwheels 37. The latter are secured to upper shafts 38 and lower shafts39. The shafts 39 carry worm gears 40 which are adapted to be slowlyrotated by worms 41 provided on a common shaft 42. To the latter a.ratchet wheel 43 is secured which is adapted to be slowly advanced by apawl 43 which is mounted on a lever 44 connected withthe crank arm '29by a link 45. By this mechanism the table 35 is slowly lowered one stepfor each cutting op-. eration, so that the surface of the stack of paperremains substantially at the same height.

Referring now to the parts of the machine to which our invention moreparticularly relates, reference will be had to Figs. 1 to 4 in which oneembodiment of our invention is shown in a diagrammatical way andseparate from the paper cutting machine. As shown, the lower cuttingblade 25 is supported on a crossbar50 having 'a longitudinal bore 51.The latter is connected through a pipe 52 with a suitable supply'ofcompressed air which in the example shown consists of a blower 53receiving power from the shaft 2 through a belt 56 trainedon pulleys 54and 55. At the side of the stack of paper the cross bar 50 is formedwith a suitable number of'nozzles or a longitudinal slot 57 throughwhich jets of air are forced from the bore 51 and under the sheet ofpaper while being fedthrough the cutting apparatus. The direction of thejet may be made to vary with the weight of the paper out, and so wheredifferent grades of paper are to be out we prefer to make the saidnozzles adjustable as to their inclination relatively to the webs ofpaper; To avoid any waste of compressed air and to permit the cut sheetsof paper to be deposited on the table 85, the supply of compressed airtothe nozzles is stopped when the paper has arrived in cutting position,for which purpose a cock valve 58 is provided in the compressed airsupply 52,- and the said valve is controlled from the main shaft 6through the intermediary of a crank arm 59 secured to the valve stem, alink 60, a rocker 61 mounted on a relatively stationary part of themachine,-and a cam 62' secured to the shaft 6 and adapted to engagetherocker 61. By this mechanism jets of air are forced through the nozzles57 while the webs of paper are being fed through the cutting device, andthe supply of air is cut off at the end of the feeding stroke and whencutting takes place, so that the cut sheets of paper are properlydeposited on the table 35.

Instead of providing the bore 51 for supplying the compressed air to thenozzles within the bar 50 a special tube 51 may be provided below thesaid bar, as is indicated in Fig. 5. As there shown the nozzles 57 areformed integralwith the tube 51 but they may be constructed in the form'of small studs screwed or otherwise secured to the said tube.

If desired a plurality of bores 51 or tubes 51 may be provided, as isshown in Fig. 5. Means may be provided to throw a suitable number ofnozzles out of operation, so that the current of air adapts itself tothe breadth or to the weight of the paper. To show what may be done wehave shown in Fig. 5 one of a plurality of screw plugs 63 which isadapted to be screwed into one of the bores provided in case removablethreaded nozzles are used. In the example shown in Fig. 4C amodification of the means for throwing some of the nozzles out ofoperation is shown, which modification is particularly adapted forcontrolling the nozzles located at the sides of the cutting apparatus.As shown in the said figure, plungers 65 ar provided at the ends of thebar 50 which plungers can be adjusted within the bore 51 so as to closethe desired number of the nozzles. The plunger rods 66 arescrewthreaded, so that by rotating the same the plungers are more orless advanced within the bore 51. Furthermore means are provided wherebythe pressure of the air is regulated, which means consist in the exampleshown in Figs. 1 and 2 of a throttle valve 67. We wish it to beunderstood, that the means shown in the drawings may be substituted byother devices, and that under circumstances either all of the said meansor a part thereof may entirely be omitted.

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7 curved supporting arms 70 areshown which are secured to a rock shaft 71 located below thelower cutterbar 50 and driven from the main shaft 6 in any suitable way.

web of paper and at the right of the upper cutter blade 26, and the airis forced through the said nozzles while the web is beingadvancedbetween the cutter blades. Simultaneously the arms 70 aregradually advanced, and when the web is being cut the sald arms aresuddenly retracted. A suitable mechanism for operating the said armswill readily suggest itself to those skilled in the art; As an exampleof what may be done, the operating mechanism may be .dri'ven from a cammounted on the main shaft 6 and" formed with suitable cam surfaces fromwhich a gradual advan cing movement is imparted to the arms while theweb is being fed and a sudden retractlng move ment when the web has cometo rest; As distinguished from the example shown in Figsl'l to 5', inwhichthejets of air actby pressure on the lower surface of the web, thenozzles shown in Figs. 6 and 7 act by suction. The jets of air areinterrupted the moment the web is being out.

In Fig. 8 we have shown an example in which the arms 7 0 for providingan additional support for the web are formed on the pipe 51 from whichthe jets of air are discharged, and the said pipe has a rocking supporton the shaft 71 In the example shown in Fig. 7 a rotary shaft 75 islocated at the right of the lower cutter bar, and on the said shaft atape 76 is rolled which with its free end is at tached to a bar 77. Thelatter is mounted on arms 78 which are secured to a rock shaft 79operated in any suitable way, for example by means of a crank arm and acam, from the main shaft 6. A coiled spring 80 secured with one end tothe shaft 75 and with the opposite end to a relatively stationary partof the machine frame tends to rewind the tape 76 and thereby to retractthe bar 77. The tape 76 provides in its unrolled position for anadditional support for the web advanced through the cutter bars.

In the example illustrated in Fig.8 an endless tape 7 6 is provided inlieu of the tape 7 6 shown in Fig. 7, and the said tape is trained onrollers 85, 86 and 89, and it forms a loop 87 in which a weight 88issupported. The tape 7 6 is also laid around the bar 77 When the bar 77 is moved to the right it carries along the tape 7 6 and raises theweight 88, and when it is returned, the weight retracts the tape.Preferably the bar 77 is constructed in the form of a roller to reducefriction.

;- We claim herein as our invention: 1. A machine for cutting a webtransversely into sheets and stacking the sheets,

2, A machine for cutting a web transfversely into sheets and stackingthe sheets,

comprising a channeled transverse cuttersupporting beam the channel inwhich is formed with jet-outlets; a cutting member mounted upon saidbeam above said jetoutlets; a second cutting member which is arranged tocooperate with the first named cutting member to sever the webtransversely of its length; means for forcing compressed f Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for "air into the channel in said beam andthence through said jet-outlets; and reciprocating guide-members whichare arranged to move away from and then back toward said beam and tosupport the edge of the sheet contiguous thereto.

3. A machine for cutting a web transversely into sheets and stacking thesheets, comprising a channeled transverse cuttersupporting beam thechannel in which is formed with jet-outlets; a cutting member mountedupon said beam above said jet-outlets; a second cutting member which isarranged to cooperate with the first-named cutting member to sever theweb transversely of its length; and means for forcing compressed .airinto the channel in said beam and thence through said jet-outlets.

In testimony whereof we aifix our signatures in presence of twoWitnesses.

ALBERT ROMMENEY. Gr. KATI-IE. Witnesses:

PAUL ARRAs, CLARE 7 SIMON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents,

Washington, 0.

